Brains
by Herochick007
Summary: Ron the zombie infects Hermione, who in turn tries to find a cure to save them both. Humor, sexual comments, Ron bashing. But will she succeed before she starts wanting brains too?


**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters**

**This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Assignment #6- Mundane Literature - ******Task 11****** \- Write about someone being trapped inside something.**

**Writing Club October**

**Disney Challenge: 4. Resurrection - Write about someone/something coming back after it was seemingly finished/defeated/ended.**

**Showtime: 22- Finale: There's Always a Tomorrow - (action) Sleeping**

**Amber's Attic: 20 - Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama: Write about an accident on the job. Alt: (action) yelling**

**Seasonal Challenge: Autumn**

****12th October: Moment of Frustration Day:****** Write about someone screaming with frustration.**

**Flower Prompts: 10 - Pansy - (theme) Will to Survive**

**Word Count: 1876**

The invasion started slowly, so slowly no one realized quite what was going on. People seemed to be returning from the dead. They were not the same though, it was a man in the ministry that finally spoke the word on everyone's mind; zombie.

"Brains!" Ron drooled pulling against his chains. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, you need brains, what else is new?" she asked staring at her ex-boyfriend. She wasn't entirely certain when he'd been turned, or if he'd been dead first or not. There were still a lot of questions about the whole zombie thing. Thankfully, Ron had been easy enough to catch. Having a living specimen would really help speed up research.

"Brains!"

"Yes, zombies eat brains, Ron. Now, why are you here exactly? Are you planning to turn me into a zombie or just eat my brains?"

"Brains?" Hermione glared at him. She'd been part of the research team the ministry had put together to try and stop the zombie outbreak. So far, they could tell being bitten by a zombie would turn you into one, but it didn't seem to affect everyone. Unfortunately she'd become infected during her research, however, it seemed she wasn't quite as mindless as most.

"Brains?" Ron asked again, this time rattling his chains at her. She rolled her eyes.

"No. You can not have my brains, Ron. I need them right now to figure this mess out, turn us both back into normal people. Or I could just kill you and do an autopsy to see if that proves to be useful?"

"Brains?"

"Yes, yes, I know. I'll feed you later, you like cow brains right?"

"Brains!" Ron agreed. Hermione nodded and looked at yet another slide under the microscope. She'd lost most of her magic when she'd been infected and had taken to trying to solve this the Muggle way. Unfortunately, it seemed like some of her intelligence was slipping away because she couldn't make heads or tails of what she saw.

"Hermione, are you alright?" she heard someone call through the door of her containment cell.

"I'm fine, just... I can't understand this nonsense, and Ron's whining, and I miss you," she called out. The containment cell was for everyone's own good. It kept her from attacking anyone, especially her research partners and kept them from putting themselves in any stupid situations. She wondered if she could still make love as a zombie.

"Making a note of that," she muttered scribbling on a piece of paper. She also jotted down what she saw through the microscope so someone else could translate it.

"Brains?"

"No, I'm not going to do it with you, Ron! We broke up before you fucking bit me you, remember?" she asked slamming her quill on the table. Her head was starting to hurt and everything was getting harder and harder to hold onto. She had managed to resist changing for nearly a month, holding out hope that someone, hopefully her current lover, might be able to find a way to reverse the infection. Everyone was under strict orders to kill her and Ron if she lost what humanity she still possessed. Her because she would be too dangerous, and Ron because she wanted to make sure he wasn't mistreated. Also, having two bodies to autopsy might finally bring a cure.

"Brains," Ron said sadly. Hermione sighed and rose from her desk. There was a small refrigerator in the corner. It was fully stocked with brains. Most of them were from pigs or cows, but she knew someone had sneaked in at least one that appeared to be human, although it could have been a monkey of some sort. She fed Ron, resisting the urge to feed as well. She knew the moment she gave in and started eating brains, she might as well give up her life.

"Hermione, these notes... What language is this?" she heard Severus ask through the door.

"Um, English? Ancient runes? Bring them here and I'll see?"

"I'm not falling for that, Hermione. You tried that trick last week, I'll just find someone to translate them again."

"Please, I'm lonely," she whined. Ron had curled up and was taking a nap, not that he was good company to begin with.

"No. We both know better than for me to get into that room with you. You'll bite me, I'll have to kill you, and myself, and then the world will probably never find a cure."

"But I want you!" Hermione continued to whine. She was starting to get bored with everything. Also, her notes weren't even making sense to her, she could tell her mind was deteriorating.

"My love, I am not stupid. No, I can not risk it, for either of us. Just hang on, Hermione. There's been some promising research, some of it yours, that might just solve this. You can not give in to the infection. Promise me."

"I promise," she whispered flopping back into her chair and wondering what to do now.

"I got you a new book, here." She heard the little door open, that's how they passed notes back and forth. She grabbed the book and started reading. Anything was better than trying to talk to Ron and his obsession with her brains!

"Brains?" Hermione blinked her eyes open. At some point, she had fallen asleep. Her book was on the floor next to her. Ron was looking at her from his corner.

"No, you still can't have mine. I'm still using them," she stated with a sigh. Another day and still no progress. Maybe she was going about this all wrong? Maybe she should be trying to figure out a way to trick Severus into coming into here with her, he had brains, sweet, smart brains. She smacked herself.

"No, I will not give in," she grumbled looking back over her research. There had to be something she was missing. What caused the infection in the first place? A virus? Bacteria? She'd already tried several anti-virals and antibiotics with no success. Something stronger maybe? What if... what could kill an infection like this? Was it even an infection?

"It's got to be an infection, it's spread by saliva. A fungus? No, maybe, what about a magical bug? Pepper up didn't work. Nothing works," she muttered as Ron stared at her.

"No, you still can't have my brain," she told him. "You have any ideas?"

"Brains?"

"What about them, does this affect the brain, or other cells? What causes it?" So far all the autopsies they'd performed had yielded nothing useful. Most of the time, there person doing them ended up infected.

"Brains?"

"But what about them, what am I missing?" Hermione yelled throwing a stack of papers to the floor. "I can't do this much longer, Ron. I can't. I'm losing my mind being in here alone, with you, and I know it's getting to me. This stupid infection is going to kill me, make me like you, and then what? Then I'll be dead at least. Wait... the first zombies were dead to begin with. Reanimated? What could reanimate a corpse?"

"Brains!"

"Exactly, it would have to take over the brain, sending signals to the rest of the body. A parasite! Severus! I think I've got it!" she screamed running over to the door. "It's a parasite!" she yelled happily.

"Hermione? It's three in the morning."

"It's a parasite! It's reanimating dead flesh, and then spreads to living flesh. We just need to figure out how to kill it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now, open this door and let me out so we can start trying to kill it!"

"That is not happening. I love you and I will cure you, but I'm not going to give in and let you turn me in a moment of weakness." Hermione pouted but nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"Just be quick about it, alright? Ron's starting to annoy me," she grumbled turning back to her room.

"Brains," Ron called out happily.

"Yes, yes, I still have mine, no, you can't have them. They might have just cured us both!"

"Brains!"

"No, I'm not doing that with you either, you git. We broke up, remember?"

"Brains..." Ron grumbled. Hermione sighed and flopped into her chair. She picked up her book and hoped Severus could figure out a way to kill the parasite before she lost control.

It had only been a few hours when she heard the door slide open. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Severus, wearing a bio hazard suit, step into her containment cell.

"Here, I might have done, but it needs to be injected. I need to do it for you. Stand against the wall, Hermione, facing the wall. Put your pretty lips on the wall." She obeyed having half a mind to comment on a time she'd been in a similar position. But the other half of her mind was already starting to think about how sweet Severus' brain would be. She felt a sharp pinch in her butt. She yelped and tried to turn, but he held her tightly.

"I'm going to leave. If this works, we can cure everyone else, hopefully. But you need to stay facing the wall. Do you understand?" She nodded and heard him walk away. Once he was gone, tears filled her eyes. She sat against the wall, far away from Ron. If this worked, she wasn't going to let him infect her again. Of course, the cure might prevent that, maybe? Her head started pounding and she curled into a ball, wishing it would end. She could feel Ron watching her.

"This might work," she told him. "If it does, and I can cure you, you can go home, find a girl who isn't me and live happily ever after."

"Brains."

"No, not with me. I want to live happily ever after with Severus, Ron. You know that, ow, it really hurts!" The pain pulsed through her body and she leaned forward heaving. The room seemed to swim around her until she finally closed her eyes and passed out.

The first thing she saw was light, bright light, bright whiteness.

"Am I dead?" she managed to make her mouth ask.

"No, you are in St. Mungo's. The cure worked, you are being monitored here as a precaution."

"It worked!"

"On about fifty percent of the infected. The dead can now rest in peace."

"Ron?"

"I'm sorry, but no, he was too far gone to save." She blinked back tears. In a way, he'd helped her figure it all out. In a way, she still cared about him.

"Thank you for telling me," she whispered as a pair of arms wrapped around her.

"You did it, Hermione," he whispered. She looked up into Severus' eyes.

"No, we did it. Now, we just need to figure out where the parasite came from, what caused it to attack us like this, and how to prevent it from happening again," she added.

"Rest, Hermione, there will be time for that later. Right now, just rest." She nodded wondering just how close she'd been to giving in to the infection, just how close she'd come to losing everything.


End file.
